


What Is and What Should Never Be

by TimeToTravel



Category: The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Universe, Cortana is a good sword and cuts the Gracelet off, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I swear this is actually happy, M/M, Some Humor, Some Plot, The Gracelet is cut off, Thomastair finally talking to eachother, Why Did I Write This?, i just want my babies to be happy, its honestly pretty bad, the Carstairs deserve happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:16:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23272336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeToTravel/pseuds/TimeToTravel
Summary: (Yes, I did steal the title from a Supernatural episode)The Carstairs siblings are both involved in interesting love lives in Edwardian England. Cordelia is trapped in a sham marriage, Alastair falling for someone who loathes him. The two manage to find happiness and love through Cortana and Anna Lightwood.(I'm sorry for the bad summary, at this point, my writing reserves are empty)
Relationships: Alastair Carstairs/Thomas Lightwood, Cordelia Carstairs/James Herondale
Comments: 8
Kudos: 138





	What Is and What Should Never Be

They were married. Cordelia would have hardly believed the events that occurred if not for the obligatory ‘congratulations’ ringing around the room. There she was, arms intertwined with James Herondale. Her friend. Her husband. The disbelief that this day had happened settled in, leaving everything in a hazy, dream like trance. She plastered on a smile, politely speaking to groups of shadowhunters as the newly weds walked around the gold gilded ballroom, courtesy of Tessa Herondale. 

They had previously spoken to Alastair, who was in quite a mood at the moment, although still remaining polite in his demeanor, and had ended the conversation with a welcome to the family and a quick, “If you hurt her, I will end you,” Lucie saying something similar as well. The people she was currently speaking to were none other than Tessa and Will Herondale themselves. The two talked excitedly and were quite enthusiastic in accepting Cordelia into their family, Will in particular. He was talking animatedly, gushing about how excited he was for the two to be married. 

“Oh, it is lovely, isn’t it,” Will continued, smiling from ear to ear. Tessa looked happy as well, although there was an underlying worry visible only if one was looking for it. It was the same look she had when the engagement was first announced. Tessa had noticed it as well. The mask. That dreadful change in behavior as though someone else was in control. A shift so slight that one had to pay attention in order to notice it. 

Will finished declaring his love and acceptance of his new daughter and moved to face his son, Tessa shaking her head in amusement. ”And another thing, young man. If you break my daughter’s heart, I will come after you.” Will’s face was pointed, staring at James, a smile barely concealed. 

James, true to Herondale fashion, dramatically sighed. “Why must everyone attack me in such ways? It’s my wedding too!”

“Maybe considering I am the better of us both,” Cordelia laughed, eyes shining. 

James shot her a smile. 

For a moment, she thought this was real, a dream come true. Laughing amongst the Herondales as though she had actually been made part of the family. A dream too good to be real. Cordelia continued laughing still, eyes a bit duller and smile forced. 

~*^*~

If anyone had asked Alastair before, he would have said that James Herondale was a bad influence on his sister. In fact, even though Alastair would now say that he was significantly more honorable than he had expected, the previous statement still stood. There was something off about him. (Contrary to popular belief, Alastair was quite observant). Alas, there wasn’t much he could do at this point, them being married and all. 

Alastair took another sip of whiskey, cringing at the smoky flavor before setting it on a table. He was disappointed in himself for turning to alcohol as a distraction, the experiences of his childhood having left a negative impact on his views on alcohol and those who consumed excessive amounts of it as well. Alastair pushed back a lock of black hair from where it was disrupting his line of vision. 

Unfortunately, standing directly in front of him were most of the members of the Merry Thieves, a nickname given to them for their likeness to the Merry Men of Robin Hood. Christopher Lightwood, bespeckled and surprisingly not on fire, chatted in an excitable haze, presumably about his latest attempts at setting more objects on fire, (Alastair still continued to have nightmares about what had transpired at the Shadowhunter Academy). Matthew Fairchild, took a shot from his flask before slinging his arm around Christopher, laughing and smiling although there was something dark, bordering self-destructive, as though he were hiding a terrible secret, under the surface. Alastair had gotten quite good at recognizing those types of expressions, probably saying something about his psyche but he couldn’t be bothered to focus on that currently. Last, but certainly not least, was Thomas Lightwood. 

Alastair leaned back against the table once more. Thomas Lightwood, an acquaintance of sorts, perhaps a friend. It was all over at this point though. The Academy had caught up with him in ways that he had anticipated since teendom, although Alastair suspected that he hadn’t faced the entirety of its impact yet. Something personal had happened to Matthew, something that had shaken him to the point that he is at now. And Thomas. Thomas with his gentle smile and his compassionate demeanor. Thomas, who now loathed him. 

Thomas who could never be his. 

~*^*~

Cordelia Carstairs had become Cordelia Herondale a grand total of two days previous. The days crept past in seemingly no rush. Cordelia glared at the thought. The marriage was already unbearable, mocking her with something unattainable. Currently, she was sitting at the dining table, picking at her still warm breakfast. James -her husband- was inside the kitchen, donning a maid’s apron, true to Herondale fashion. When they had first moved in, Cordelia had offered to cook for the both of them, immediately being turned down since it was, “the least I could do.” Therefore, they had both decided to switch kitchen duty, Cordelia cooking one day and James the next until the servant arrived. 

They were both relatively happy, moving into a steady rhythm, acting like friends do. From an outsider’s perspective, they seemed like a regular married couple, minus a couple odd mannerisms. For one, they had both collectively decided that they would sleep in separate rooms, for obvious reasons. Oh, the woes of unrequited love. 

James approached the table, setting a plate of his own aside before removing that apron he insisted on wearing whilst cooking, silver bracelet glinting in the morning sun The first time she’d spotted him wearing it, audible laughter had escaped her. The fabric was embroidered with frills, although that was not what had made her laugh. It was the ridiculous grin plastered onto his face while he wore it, singing Irish ballads inspired by those of Bridget’s incessant singing at the London Institute. The days were quite tolerable at the moment, even under a false pretense. 

“Are you feeling alright?” Cordelia looked up to meet eyes of fire and gold. 

“I was only lost in thought,” she responded with a surprisingly genuine smile. 

~*^*~

Alastair had not expected to be talking to Thomas Lightwood in the days immediately following his sister’s wedding. Alas, things usually do not occur the way Alastair expects them to. So, there he was, at the London Institute, expecting to find his sister training with her parabatai-to-be only to be told that she had left an hour earlier. As though his luck couldn’t get any better, none other than Thomas Lightwood, a neutral expression on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

Alastair matched his stone cold expression. “I was looking for my sister, but I now understand that she has left this establishment. I will be leaving now.” Alastair turned on his heel before hearing a quiet, “Wait.” He turned back to face Thomas, arms crossed. 

Thomas let out a sigh before continuing. “I would like to hear your explanation for what transpired at James and Cordelia’s engagement party,” he scratched the back of his head. Granted, Thomas hadn’t been the one to come up with this idea. That credit belonged to Anna, who, after seeing how hurt Thomas was after the party. “I realize now that I hadn’t bothered to let you explain yourself.”

~*^*~

The ravener demon continued moving toward James and Cordelia, approaching slowly before launching at the two. The night was dark, James throwing his knives at the demon. Cordelia swung Cortana into a wide arc, slashing the demon into two pieces before it vanished. James removed his ichor soaked gear jacket, rapidly moving to mark an iratze to the wound cut below his bicep to the edge of his wrist, tying the fabric of the gear around the wound. Demon attacks in London continued to be relatively low besides the occasional demon attack. 

Cordelia gazed at the dissipating remains of what used to be a ravener before catching a glimpse of silver shining from the corner of her vision. A bracelet, so familiar, laying on the ground in two pieces. It looked almost harmless in the light of the moon. Cordelia was overwhelmed with apology, turning to face James. 

“My apologies, I didn’t realize how close your arm was to the demon.” That much was quite true, the battle had passed in a rush of adrenaline. The only thing Cordelia couldn’t figure out was the angle the blade had entered. Cordelia was absolutely certain that she had calculated the entry precisely, it was a skill she prided herself on. Cortana glinted mischievously (I have no idea how else to describe it, so imagine as you will). Cordelia looked up to meet James’ gaze, a look of confusion on his face. 

The first thing she noticed was that the mask was gone as if it were never there in the first place. Cordelia moves forward, tentatively placing an arm on his shoulder. “I’m really sorry about the bracelet. I realize it was a gift from Grace and I had no intention to cut it off.” 

James shook his head. “No, it’s alright, I just. I don’t feel a loss. It’s as though they were never there.” 

Accepting that reply with a nod, Cordelia looped her arm around James’ uninjured arm before heading back in the direction of their home, bracelet forgotten in the twinkling lights of stars illuminating the sky. And on the ground, the two pieces of the bracelet lay harmlessly, split at the beginning of the second word, the delicate script spelling out LOYAULTÉ ME LIE. Loyalty binds you.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea why I wrote this and honestly, it's not that good, but I'm still putting it out there for some reason. Keep in mind, I wrote this at 3am because I wanted the Carstairs to be happy. If you want to read something kind of decent of mine, check out If Crazy=Genius, The Herondales, Fairchilds, Blackthorns, and Carstairs Would Have 162 IQ. Thanks for reading :)


End file.
